Hello, everybody, and welcome to this episode on the “Law of Karma: What is it and Why Should I Care?”

Last episode, we talked about your heart chakra, where the spark of your Divine Self resides, and how it is the doorway to connect to your higher consciousness, your I AM Presence. In the episode before that, we review the life of best-selling author, Dannion Brinkley, who has had three near-death experiences where he visited higher spiritual realms and communicated with spiritual beings. So, if you haven't heard that episode, you might want to go back and listen. It's pretty cool.

Well, while in the spiritual realms, Dannion described what he called a life review, where he holographically relived every single thing he had ever thought, said, and his every action, both from his own perspective as well as he became every person he had interacted with, feeling exactly what they felt. He said that this was the highlight of his experience there because it turned his life around. Now, this type of life review is what each of us experiences at the end of our lives.

It's a learning experience so that we can learn firsthand the consequences of our actions. That brings us to the law of karma, which is nothing more than a term that describes the cycle of cause and effect. Karma is a Sanskrit word from the Eastern tradition that literally means “action.”

Unpacking Karma: From Ancient Wisdom to Everyday Expressions

But it's not just a concept in the East. This universal law of karma has been with us since the beginning of time, and it's known by a number of different names. Like currently in our popular culture, we know it as the law of attraction. From a scientific perspective, there's Newton's third law - for every action, there's an opposite and equal reaction. Even more colloquial expressions, such as what goes around comes around, what you sow you reap. If you plant corn seeds, you don't get tomatoes. So this is nothing new to us. We innately understand this law.

This same teaching is found in a number of the world's religions. An example from the Bible is in the book of Matthew. “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

Another example from the Buddhist scripture, from the Samyutta Nikaya, is “According to the seed that's sown, so is the fruit you reap therefrom. Doer of good will gather good. Doer of evil, evil reaps. Sown is the seed, and thou shalt taste the fruit thereof.”

Now a more modern example is Florence Scovel Shinn, who was a spiritual practitioner in the early 20th century. She talks about the game of life. She says, most people consider life a battle, but it's not a battle. It's a game, a great game of giving and receiving, and we know that to be successful at any game, you have to know how to play. You have to know what the rules are, and what's the outcome that you're trying to go for.

In life, this rule of giving and receiving, cause and effect, is very important to understand, because it guides us in the use of our free will. Because as we create, the results return to us.

Now to fully understand this law, we have to begin with the basic premise that everything is energy, which we've covered in previous episodes. According to its vibrational speed and frequency, we have different manifestations. And this includes us.

We are vibrational beings, and according to the level of our vibration, is what we're putting out to the universe that will come back to us. This initial premise that we are vibrational beings, and that we are physical extension of that which is non-physical, is vital to our understanding of the law of karma. It's important to understand that you're constantly creating. Your thoughts are creations, your emotions, your memories too, and of course your actions. All are manifestations of energy.

Take for instance, if you had a traumatic experience, one perhaps that you've not completely released or gotten over, the energy imprint or record of that event is still in your memory body, even if you don't consciously think of it. But each time you do think about it, and feel it all over again, it's no longer something that happened in the past. It's in your present moment. The energy is still there with you.

By re-living the past, you create the situation all over again. As you recreate the past in this way, the situation is made stronger, imprisoning you within an energy pattern that can totally engulf you. I mean, think about the person who's unable to get over a particular fear or phobia, and they refuse to leave the house. That's just an example. But it's these records, our misuses of God's energy, that is what creates our illness, our disease, our emotional bondage.

But the good news is, the same holds true for your good memories. You can likewise raise your vibration to a very high level, simply by remembering or re-experiencing a very wonderful event that happened in your life. Many people use this remembering technique in their meditations to get centered in their hearts, or when they find their vibration has dipped to a lesser level, and they want to get back to a higher vibration.

When trying to understand the law of karma, it is incumbent that we take full responsibility for our lives. Now, this sometimes is a tall order, especially in our society today. Our society today almost encourages us to blame others for the conditions in our lives. And this blaming can range toward our parents, our teachers, spiritual leaders, the government, etc., etc.

However, as a creator in the physical realm, we are responsible for what we create and the conditions in our life. As the saying goes, “change your thinking and change your life.” Knowing this law, we can catch ourselves when we start to recreate a hurt from the past, or a put down by somebody else, or an experience that makes us feel the situation all over again. For rehashing the situation, we are sowing the seeds that will come back to us again.

The Law is Simple

While the law of cause and effect is simple, its application is not always so apparent. Effects of the causes we set in motion are not necessarily instant. It may take a lifetime, or numerous lifetimes, before the effects of our actions circle back to us. But this is also the mercy of the law. It gives us additional time to grow and mature spiritually, so that we're better prepared to handle the return effects of some of our unenlightened choices.

It also gives us an opportunity to balance some of our debts to life through service to others, even specific individuals we may have harmed. Iit also gives us the opportunity to reap the benefits of our previous constructive choices.

Now, at other times, the return of karma can seem almost instant. It can be as simple as helping a neighbor in need, and then later that neighbor or someone else helps you when you lose your job. Or it may be that you're not careful, or you take risky actions, and as a result you have an accident and sustain a serious injury. The bottom line is, whether we are aware of it or not, the game of life goes on continuously every moment of our lives.

Our thoughts, feelings, actions, and words are all creations that define our world and send forth degrees of constructive or destructive energies. This can be also the reason why we sometimes see wonderful people experiencing dire personal situations. We often hear people question why God would allow such and such to happen, when in reality we are the “god” in this dimension.

We are creators, and we were given and have dominion over the earth with free will to choose our actions. So when we create in conjunction with God in spirit, which is our true identity, then we are co-creators in alignment with God in our own divine nature, and the God above and the God below are in complete harmony, and we are whole.

Just as Jesus said, “I and my Father are one.” We become the instruments of our divine nature expressing itself in earthly life. But sometimes we learn the hard way when using our creative energies.

So a good plan of action is to act knowing that all of life is my responsibility and not anybody else's. Of course, you cannot control the actions of others. We all have free will. But you can control how you respond to others, or to crises, or to challenges or situations in any aspect of your life. Always remember, you have complete access to God, your Source, and your higher nature if and when you attune to it. You can live in that vibration right here while living on earth.

The secret to the Law of Karma is to be in alignment, or vibrating at the level of your I AM Presence. That vibration is love, joy, and compassion. I'm not talking just about emotions, but levels of vibrational frequency.

Love is the highest vibration in the universe. It is the energy frequency that sustains the physical universe. Love, joy, and compassion are powerful creative forces. So to live in alignment with those frequencies is how we navigate through a challenging world and remain joyful, at peace, and with compassion. It reminds me of a quote from the poet Rumi, who said, “Journey from self, with a little s, to Self, with a big S, and find the mine of gold.”

The spiritual teacher Elizabeth Clare Prophet said, “One way to think about our goal in life is that our entire reason for being born into these physical bodies is to access the light of the Spirit, to draw it down into every cell and atom of these minds, emotions, and bodies that we bear until they become light.” When that takes place, when what below is above, there is no longer any difference between us and our divine reality.

One of the simplest ways that I know to move into the higher vibrations of love and joy and compassion is with gratitude. Much has been written about gratitude, and while the concept may seem like an oversimplified solution, do not underestimate its transformational power. That which you put your attention upon expands, and being grateful for what you have or what you would like more of magnifies and attracts more of the same into your life.

Gratitude is an attitude that focuses on the positive, and ultimately it leads to joy. Not just the joy of laughing and having fun, but more importantly, that inner sense of security and happiness and well-being that's like a spiritual security blanket around you, and at the same time like a sun bursting forth from your heart.

Joy is a powerful energy that flows from you, re-energizing you and all those around you. It is the equanimity that carries you through life's most challenging events, and it's actually the twin sister of love. As the scriptures say, God is love, so we can say God is Joy with a capital J.

Now you may find as you buzz around from one event of the day to another, you're not necessarily so successful at feeling that inner joy, that peace, and that equanimity that we all desire. So when that happens, you can catch yourself and shift your state of being. The first step, of course, is to notice your state of being and then making a decision to change it.

Now stress is an interesting thing. I've taught for years that stress is something we put upon ourselves, and I've had people challenge that concept, but the best example I have to share with others is my own experience. In my very early working life, when I was working as an assistant to the Director of Public Affairs of a major bank in Los Angeles, I observed very closely how he worked without being stressed out or feeling under pressure, even though he had tremendous responsibilities. He met with many people in his work, and yet he was never stressed out, always very relaxed, and had organized his work so that he didn't have to be stressed.

He had all the client files he was working on in his desk file drawer, and when he wanted to work on one, or when the client was coming in to meet with him, he'd pull out that file and work on it. When he was finished, he would fold it up and put it back. This is how his day went. His desk was nearly always clean, and he went through his busy days very relaxed. This was a great example for me when I was a young employee, and it taught me how I don't have to be stressed out, even if I'm working in a stressful environment.

Another more recent example is my husband and I have lived much of the year in Ecuador in South America for the last 11 years. One of the things we really like about Ecuador, besides the people, is the relaxed lifestyle. Very few people there stress about their jobs, their schedules, their families, etc., like we do in the North. So, once you adjust to the slower pace of life there, it is quite liberating.

Since we both work from home, and for a number of years in our Ecuador home, we always felt so relaxed with our work and just enjoying life. Then, at one point, we noticed that we were feeling pressure to do certain things, to accomplish certain goals, and that feeling of stress started to reappear. At that point, I stopped and recognized, and we both acknowledged, there's no one putting pressure on us.

“Who's putting this pressure on us?” There were no bosses or co-workers or situations. We were doing it to ourselves. Once we recognized that, we were able to move back into the flow of our lives and work without this artificial pressure we were putting on ourselves.

Nevertheless, I recognize that it's easy in our fast-paced world to get going so fast between work and home responsibilities, that we need to remind ourselves to take a deep breath, center, and move back into that joy of being present and relaxed in what we're doing as we move through our responsibilities of the day.

So, I want to share a very simple technique that you can do to raise your vibration and get centered back into your heart and feel that joy and inner peace. You can do this at anytime, anywhere. No one ever has to even know you're doing it, and that is expressing gratitude. Wherever you are right now, even if you're in the car, take a deep breath and let it out as you bring your attention to your heart. Then, look around your environment and focus on something that you can appreciate, something that you enjoy or maybe find useful.

It can be anything, a plant, beautiful picture, your computer, your car, if you're driving now. Once you find that thing, then send it feelings of appreciation, appreciation for its beauty or its usefulness, however it serves you, but just let your heart open and be grateful for that particular object and send that energy to that object. Once you felt and communicated that feeling of gratitude, then find another item in your environment that you can do the same, appreciate and be grateful for it also. Feel the gratitude and appreciation once again and acknowledge its contribution in your life.

Now, think of someone in your life that you love and appreciate. It can be anybody or can even be your pet. See that one in your mind's eye and send feelings of gratitude for that presence in your life, for his or her love and all the joy that he or she brings you. Feel your heart opening more and more as you express more gratitude and send that energy to that person and feel the joy and the love flowing from you. Just stay in these feelings.

Feel how they feel in your body and with your intention, expand and intensify that feeling, that energy until the gratitude, the joy and love are bigger than your body. Notice how this energy appears. Does it have a color, a sound? What's the feeling? Note how you're feeling, how your vibration is elevated and is much higher state than before you began this exercise. This is just a simple technique that you can use anytime.

You do not have to be in meditation but can be completely present for the whole experience. If you discipline yourself to express gratitude and blessing even to those who do you wrong, you can change the experience to a powerful energy of inner joy. You're sending out positive vibrations that will circle back to you rather than reacting in fear, anger or resentment.

As Jesus said, “You've heard that it was said, love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you that you may be sons of your father in heaven.” You see you change the energy by moving immediately to the positive.

Gratitude and joy are powerful energies that flow from you and they not only re-energize you, but also all of those around you. This is just one simple thing you can do to raise your vibrations and attune to your higher nature. The feelings of gratitude generate from your heart and that is the key for your deepest and highest meditations and for heart-centered living of your everyday life as well.

If you're more into journaling or writing things down, another thing you could do is before retiring each evening, write down three things you're grateful for that day and feel that gratitude, not just writing alone. If you don't write, simply express the gratitude verbally or silently. But most importantly, feel that gratitude.  It is the feeling that changes your energy.

In our next episode, we're going to examine the concept of reincarnation or re-embodiment as it's sometimes called. Until then, keep an open mind, a generous heart, and a powerful spirit.

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